Draft rigging



April 28, 1925.. 1,535,316 B. W. KADEL DRAFT RIGGING Original Filed May 2l, 1918 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IILIIIILIIIQI IIILILIIIIQIILIIIIQ n r1 UQ 111101 B. W. KADEL 'DRAFT RIGGI-NG 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed May 21 (11101 nel? April 28, 1925. 1,535,316

B. w. KABEL DRAFT RIGGING original Fild May 21,`1-91e 5 sheets-sheet 4 5 sheets-sheet s B. W. KADEL DRAFT RIGGING Original Filed May 2l, 1S31 8- Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

BYERS W. KADEL, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR. BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T THE SYMINGTON COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MARYLAND.

DRAFT RIGGING.

Application lcd May 21, 1918, Serial No. 235,877.

To ZZ 107mm t fmny/ concern:

13e it known that l, Bruns W. KAnn-L, a citizen of the United Sta-tes, residing at Baltimore city, and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft Rigging; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact descrip-tion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which 'Y it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to draft rigging for railway cars, and more particularly to draft rigging primarily designed for application to freight cars. Broadly considered the in vention comprises means for strengthening the portions of the car framing directly receiving the shocks and strains incident to service, means for strengthening the draft rigging parts and means for attaching the in a simple, strong, eiicient and reliable manner.

To this end the main features of my invention, generally stated, comprise short draft sills having the lower flanges thereof inwardly directed, and cheek-plates connected to the outer ends of the said draft sills, said ,plates being adapted to overlie the lower fla-nge of the adjacent sill and being fm adapted to be connected thereto, and a combined stop and tie casting interposed between the rear ends of the draft sills and adapted to rigidly splice the adjacentends of the draft and center sills, in combination with a horizontally disposed yoke.

There are many other'features of the invention, as for example, the form of the stop members, the form of the combined stop and tie casting, the relationship of these parts to the horizontally disposed yoke, the method of supporting the movable parts of the draft rigging, the relationship between the draft sills and the said movable parts and the relationship between the draft sills, cheekplates or stop members and the car superstructure, as will more fully appear in the detailed description of the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which have been chosen to illustrate the same, and in which, Figure 1 is a top plan view partially in horizontal section, showing the application of the invention to a car underframe,

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal vertical 55 section of the structure shown in Figure 1.

said draft rigging parts-to the car framing Renewed March 3, 1925.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the device as shown in Figure 1, the moving parts of the draft rigging being omitted for the sake of' clearness,

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal vertical sectional view of the invention as illustrated in Figure 3, A

Flg'ure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line 5--5 of Figure 2,

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line 6 6 of Figure 2,

Figures 7 to 11 are detail views of one of the stop members, Figure 7 being a side elevation, Figure 8 a top plan, Figure 9 a hori* zontal longitudinal section on line 9-9 o-f Figure 7, and Figures 10 and 11, are, respectively, front and rear elevations,

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure 3 illustrating, however, a slight modification,

Figure 13 is a view similar to Figure 4 illustrating the modified structure shown in Figure 12,

Figure 14 is a transverse vertical sectional view corresponding to Figure 5 of the modified construction,

Figure 15 is a plan view partially in horizontal section showing the relationship between the draft and center sills and the manner of connection between the same and the backstop,

Figure 16 is a central longitudinal, vertical section of the structure illustrated in Figure 15, and

Figure 17 is a transverse vertical section 'taken on line 17-17 of Figure 15.

Throughout the specification and drawings like parts are designated by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, 1, 1 indicate the draft sills of a ear, the said sills are provided wit-h inturned lower flanges 2. The sills 1, 1 are conveniently formed from a flat metal plate by rolling or pressing the same and when completed taper rearwardly as shown at 3, (the said taper may be produced by varying the width of the said lower flange portion 2, which, as will be noted, gradually increases in width from the forward portion of said sill). This form of sill possesses great advantages over the ordinary rolled channel section in that it is possible to form the inner end of the draft sill of substantially the same size as the ad jacent end of the center sill to which the draft sills are connected and at the same time to give a greatly increased area to the forward ends of the said draft sills for the attachment thereto of the stop members, and this increase in area at the forward ends of the sills is produced, as will be noted, without varying the upper edge of the sill, that is, the upper edge of the sill is maintained in horizontal alinement with the cover plate or floor plate of the car. In addition to the advantages before pointed out, attent-ion is directed to the fact that by turning the lower flange of the draft sills inwardly the web or main body of the plate may be spaced outwardly so as to increase the sill spacing without changino' the car construction from the recommended practice of the Master Car Builders Association. It will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that by this change it is possible to greatly increase the strength of the stop members without thereby encroaching upon the space normally occupied by the moving parts of the draft rigging.

To the inner face of each of the draft sills 1, 1 is connected a stop member or cheekplate 4 (see Figures 7 to 11). Since each cheek-plate is identical it will be only necessary to particularly describe the construction of 011e. The stop member or cheek-plate 4 preferably comprises a main web 5, the outer face Gpof which is adapted to Contact the adjacent face of the sill 1. On the inner face 7 the cheek-plate is provided with a plurality of longitudinally disposed ribs or flanges 8, 9, 10 and 11, the flanges 8 and 11 are preferably in alinement with the upper and lower edges of the web 5, and form therewith the top and bottom faces, respectively, of the said plate. The cheek-plate 4 is also provided intermediate the flanges 8 and l1 with a longitudinally disposed slot or opening 12, the marginal edges of which slot are preferably reinforced and strengthened both on the inner and outer faces of the plate 4 by bosses or flanges 18 and 14, respectively. A longitudinally disposed ange 15 may be provided, the said flange being adapted to extend from the adjacent portion of the boss 13 to the upright flange 16 at the forward end of said plate 4, the said flange 16 serving also to connect the forward ends of the flanges 10 and 11. A further upright flange 17, which is spaced rearwardly from the forward end bf the plate 4, serves to join the adjacent ends of the anges 8 and 9, the said upright flange 17 may be, and preferably is, extended downwardly so as to connect the same to a portion of the flange or boss 14. At the inner end of the cheek-plate 4 the longitudinally disposed flanges- 8 to 11 are connected by a vertical flange 18. the intermediate portion 19 of said flange being curved rearwardly so as to coincide with the curved rearwardly extending portion 5a of the web 5 of the said cheek-plate. This construction greatly increases the strength of the said plate adjacent the inner end of the slot 12 and effectively counteracts the tendency of the plate to crack at this portion owing to the strains imposed thereon by the rearward movement of the draft key. Above and below the portion 19 the flange 18 is deeper or extends inwardly further than does the said portion 19 to thereby provide a pair of inwardly projecting spaced upper and lower stop shoulders 20 and 21, respectively, which are separated by a longitudinally extending groove or way 22 to receive one of the arms of the coupler connecting means, to be hereinafter described. The upright flange 18 is provided adjacent its inner end with a forwardly directed lip or flange 23, the said flange being adapted to follow the contour of the flange 18 and to form in conjunction therewith and with the web 5 of the cheek-plate and with the longitudinally disposed flanges 8, 9, 10 and 11 and the boss 14 a series of forwardly open pockets 24. This construction greatly strengthens the stop shoulders and also provides adjacent the portion 19 an increase bearing surface for the forward ends of the horizontal yoke. The portion of the flange 23 adjacent the portion 19 also serves to space the yoke arms inwardly away from the rivets which connect the cheek-plates to the draftsills adjacent this portion. The flanges 8 and 11, as well as the main web 5 of the cheek-plate 4, are provided with a plurality 'of rivet-receiving openings 25, and, as will be noted from the drawings, the lower flange 11 of the cheek-plate is adapted to rest upon and to be secured to the adjacent portion of the draft sill flange 2, the web of` the plate being riveted to the web of the draft sill, and the upper flange S of the cheek-plate may be connected to the top cover plate 48:L as shown in Figure 2. and to the flange of the draft sill l as well, as shown in Figure 12. rThis const-rnction provides an exceedingly strong and rigid construction and effectively braces the adjacent portions of the car framing. The portion 26 of the web 5 forward of the upright flange 17 and above the longitudinally disposed rib or flange 15 is preferably flat so as to afford not only a convenient construction for the connection of the adjacent portion of the end stake 27, which connects the underfraining to the superstructure of the car, but also for the connection of the coupler guide 28. The end stake 27 is preferably formed as a Z-bar shape, the web 29 of which is riveted to the portion 26 of the cheek-plate and to the web of the draft sill, and the flange 8O of the end stake is preferably connected to the upright flange 17 of the cheek-plate. This construction not only strengthens the car superstructure to which the end stake is connected at one end, but also effectively braces the cheek-plates against vertical movement. As will be noted from the disclosures in Figures 7 to 11, the ianges 10, 11 and 14of the cheek-plate 4 vary 1n width at different portions, and that the boss 14 is deeper at the inner end than adjacentthe forward portion of the slot 12 the object and purpose of this construction will be hereinafter more fully described.

The forward ends of the horizontal yoke or coupler connecting means 31 are adapted to be received between the adJacent faces of the cheek-plate stop shoulders 2O and 2l, the forward ends entering the slots or ways 22 hereinbefore described. The said yoke arms 31 are operatively connected to thc coupler 32 by means of a transversely extending coupler key 33, the outer ends of which are adapted to pass through the slots i2 in the said cheek-plates, the bosses 13 of the said plates being entered in and eX- tended through correspondingly `formed slots 34 in the draft sills 1. The key I33 1s adapted to pass through the slot 35 in the coupler and the slots 36 in the yoke arms 31, the last mentioned slots' bemg rearwardly extended so as to permit the coupler to move rearwardly independently of the yoke. The forward ends of the slots 36 of the yoke arms aie preferably provided with enlarged bearings 3T, these bearings preferably extending on both sides of the vertical faces of the yoke. The slot 35 in the coupler is also provided with laterally ex. tended br .ring surfaces 38 adjacent the rear edge of the slot 35, and as will be noted from the drawings (see Figure 1) portions of the bearings 37 and 38 on the yoke and coupler, respectively, are adapted to voverlap whereby the key 33 when under draft is relieved of bending strains, and is -at certain points under a direct compression. The enlai-ged bearings also serve to distribute the load so as to greatly reinforce these parts against deformation in service.

Within the yoke 31 and interposed between the stop shoulders 20 and 21 and the rear end of the yoke which normally contacts with the centrally located stop casting 3S), is the cushioning mechanism 40 which may include an H-shaped follower 41, the arms 42 of which extend outwardly above and below the horizontal edges of the yoke 31, and are adapted to normally contact the inner faces of the said stop-shoulders 20 and 21. A rear follower 43 is adapted to contact the forward face of the inner end of the yoke. the said follower may be, and preferably is, substantially rectangular iii outline, and is wholly included between `the yoke arms. Interposed between the fols" lowers is the resistance mechanism 44 whichf may be of any of the well known types.

iron. ferred to may comprise a channel shaped member, the anges 28n of which are, as

The particular form of the resistance mechanism lchosen for the pur ose of illustration is the well known essions friction mechanism which is provided with a plurality of friction blocks 45, a wedging ring or head 46, and a spring casing or housing 47. The front and rear followers are supported in operative positions, respectively, by transversely disposed tie-.plates 48 `and 49, these tie-plates being provided at their opposite ends with upturned flanges 50, the said Hanges 50 being adapted to contact with the outer faces of the draft sill webs and to be connected thereto by means of the transversely extending bolts 51. To the under side of the forward tie-plate 48 there is suitably connected the casing guide 52 which is adapted to engage the forward portion of the casing 47 and to maintain the same in operative position. A further casing guide 53 may be provided, the said guide comprising a metal plate adapted to be connected adjacent its ends to the cover plate 48a.

To guide and support the rear end of the yoke 31 I preferably provide brackets54 and 55 which are adapted to be connected to the draft sills 1, 1 above and below the edges of the yoke arms. Each of these brackets may, and preferably does comprise, an L-shaped plate, one leg of whiclr" is adapted to be connected to th-e draft sills, and the other ler of each extending above or below the yoke as the case may beto guide or support the same. If desirable, I may provide one or both brackets with upright flanges to engage the outer faces of the yoke arms so as to form a guide to maintain the same aga-inst transverse movement (see Figure 15).

The lower flanges 2 of the draft sills 1 beneath the rear follower 43 are cut away, as at 56, to permit the ready removal and insertion of this follower after the removal ofV the tie-plate 49. It will be noted that the adjacent edges of the flanges 2 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the resistance mechanism 44 so as to permit the free removability of the same from beneath the sills. The fianges 2, however, underlie the yoke 31.

Connected to the upright flanges 16 of lthe cheek-plates 4 and resting upon the longitudinally extended flanges 10 at their portions'lO, which are laterally extended so as to form seats, is the carry iron 57. This carry iron maybe provided with integral coupler limit stops 58 which, as will be noted, extend into the horizontal planes of the yoke arms and which would therefore prevent the outward removal of the yoke without the first removal of the said carry The coupler guide 28 heretofore rehave beenstated, connected to the portion 26 of the plate 4.

It will be clearly seen from Figure 1 that portions of the cheek-plate flanges underlie the extensions 38 on the coupler, and it will be observed that in order to clear the extensions 37 on the yoke that the bosses 14 are diminished in width adjacent the forward ends thereof. The portions of the flanges 10 which underlie the enlarged bearings' 38 on the coupler greatly increase the strength of the stop shoulders 21, but do not prevent the downward remgval of the coupler, since these flanges are cutaway as shown at 10", so as to clear the projections 38 on the coupler when the sameis moved slightly forward. The lower flange 11 of the cheek-plate closely follows the conformation of the flange 10, and also does not interfere with the downward removability of the coupler.

To the outer faces of the draft sills 1 and to the lower edge of the superstructure 59 are connected in any suitable manner the draft sill braces 60. The web 61 of these braces at points where they would intersect the slots 12 may be provided with curved portions 62 which extend around the ends of the said slots lso as to clear the forward edge of the coupler key.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figures 12 to 17, the draft sills.63 are channel shape in section, but are arranged so that the flanges 64 thereof are inwardly directed, as is clearly shown in Figure 14.

The upper flanges 65 of the cheek-plates 66 are offset, as at 67, to accommodate the upper inturned flange 64. Except for this slight modification the cheek-plates 66 are substantially identical with the cheek-plates 4, heretofore described.

Instead of forming the coupler guide as a channel bar or plate, I may construct the same as a hollow casting 68 so as to provide the saine with the coupler guiding surface 69 and a striking portion 70, the latter being reinforced and strengthened by a rearwardly directed flange or web 71. At opposite ends the coupler guide 68 is pref erably provided with upright webs or flanges 72 each of which is adapted to be connected to the adjacent face of the cheek-plate 66 by means of the rivets a. The flanges 72 may, and preferably do, extend on opposite sides of the guiding portion 69 of the casting 68. In order to prevent the upper in- 4turned flanges of the draft sills from interfering with the connection of the end stakes to the inner faces of the cheek-plates, these flanges are cut away at the points where the draft sills project beyond the car superstructure.

The draft sill braces 73 of the modified form are forwardly inclined from the lower edge 74 of the superstructure 59 to the lower edge of the draft sills so as to clear the forward ends of the slots in the cheek casting 66, this construction avoiding the formation in these braces of the curved or rounded portions 62 which are provided in the braces 60 to clear the ends of the coupler key slots. It will be noted that in both forms of construction these braces are riveted to the cheek-plates as well as to the draft sills, and in the form illustrated in Figures l2 to 14 are connected to the coupler guide as well.

The manner in which the draft sills 63 are connected to the projecting ends of the center sills 75 is clearly illustrated in Figures 15 to 17. The combined stop and tie casting 3S) is provided with a striking portion 76 against which the rear end of the yoke 31 normally bears-and this striking portion is preferably connected to the body portion 77 of the said casting by means of a plurality of vertically disposed webs or flanges 78 and 7S), the webs 78 extending from the side walls 80 of the body portion 77 to ends of the said striking portion 76. The web 7 9 is adapted to connect the intermediate portions of the striking portion 7 6 and the body portion 77 of the said Casting, and may and preferably does form a continuation of the central vertical web 81 of the said body portion of the casting 239. The said striking portion is also connected to the body portion 77 of the casting by the transversely extending webs 82 and S3. These webs are connected to the said striking portion at points removed from the upper and lower edges thereof, and at least one of said transversely disposed webs is arranged substantially horizontally and in the line of the said voke 31. The side wallsI 80 of the said casting are provided with off-sets 84 to form pockets for the reception of the ends of the short draft sills 63. These off-sets 84 are preferably of the same depth as the webs of the draft sills to thereby position the outer faces of the said webs in alinement with the inner faces of the webs of the center sills 75. The outer ends of the center sills 75 overlap the inner L Ads of the draft sills and the respective pairs of sills are rigidly united by means of the rivets 85, which pass through the overlapped ends of the sills and through the adjacent wall 8O of the stop casting. The bottom wall 86 of the stop casting is offset adjacent its lateral edges so as to overlie the bottom flanges 64 of the said draft sills to which the same is connected by means of the rivets 487. The center sills 7 5 and the draft sills 6B are preferably of the same depth adjacent the stop casting SD and oppositely directedvflanges of the two sets of sills therefore lie in the same horizontal plane, this construction permits the cover plate 48aL to overhe and Contact the upper lill) of assembling.

anges of the said sills and to be rigidly connected thereto by means of the rivets 88. The said cover plate serves as an additional tie to hold the sills 63 from spreading and also rigidly unites the cheek-plates 4 to the said back stop.

In Figure 15 the yoke supporting brackets 89 are provided with vertically extending lips 90 which serve to hold the yoke 31 in alinement betwen the draft sills.

The operation of the device will be clear from an inspection of the drawings. Attention, however, is directed to the `method Upon the removal of the carry iron the yoke may be entered between the cheek-castings and slid rearwardly, and then the coupler may be moved vertically into position, after which a further slight movement of the yoke will bring the key slots of vcoupler and yoke into register, after which the coupler key may be inserted and the carry iron placed in position. The forward follower is then inserted and will be temporarily supported in position on the yoke arms. The cushioning mechanism, includin the rear follower, is then raised to position and the rear follower driven into place, this latter action being permitted by the incline provided at the upper end of the lfollower 43. AAfter the parts are in position the tie plates 48 and 49 are connected and serve to firmly hold or maintain thev parts in operative position.

Having now described my invention, although it is to be understood that the terms employed are to be taken in their descriptive and not their limiting sense, what I claim and desire to secure'by Letters Patent is: `v t l. In a draft rigging the combination with a yoke, and cushioning mechanism of draft sills, cheek plates 'attached thereto,

said sills and cheek-plates being provided with registering slots, said cheek-plates also being provided adjacent the rear end of the said slot with spaced stop faces, the said yoke arms being adapted to extend between the spaced stops on the ,said'cheek plates, the portions of the cheeklates in the rear of the ends of the said s ots being hollow in cross section. j

2. In a draft rigging the combination with a coupler having a key slottherein, of a horizontally disposed yoke the. limbs of which are provided with key slots adapted to register with the key slots in the coupler, the said. coupler being provided adjacent .the rear of the key slot with outwardly projecting portions adapted to form extensions of the walls of the said slot, the limbs of the yoke being also provided on their inner faces adjacent the forward ends of the key slots with inwardly projectingy por- To disassemble the device, the operations are reversed.

tions, the said portions on the yoke being l adapted to overlie the said projections on the coupler, the said yoke also being provided on its outer faces with projections at the forward ends of 'the slots, and a key adapted to extend through the said slots in the said coupler and yoke to operatively connect the same.

3. In a draft rigging the combination with slotted draft sills having slotted cheekplates attached thereto, of a coupler, a yoke connected thereto, the said yoke arms being adapted to be received in ways formed in the said cheek-plates, the said coupler and yoke being provided with registering slots to receive the transversely extending key, the rear wall of the key .slot in the coupler and the forward wall of the key slot in the yoke being lateraly extended by projections formed on the said coupler and yoke respectively, certain of the projections on the yoke arms being on the outer faces thereof, the said projections on the coupler being adapted to overlie the projections on the inner faces of the yoke arms, the said cheek-plates being cut away so as to clear the projections on thev outerfaces of the yoke arms.

4. In a draft rigging the combination of a pair of spaced draft sills having the` bottom flangesl thereof inwardly directed, of a cushioning mechanism, a coupler, a horizontally disposed yoke surrounding said cushioning mechanism, and means for detachably connecting "said coupler and yoke, said cushioning mechanism lying above the v said inwardly directed -fianges of the said sills and being of slightly less width than the distance between the adjacent edges of the said inwardly directed fianges.

5. In a draft rigging the combination of a pair of spaced draft sills having lower inturned flanges, of -a coupler, cushionin mechanism and a horizontally arranged yoke, means for operatively connecting said coupler and yoke, the said yoke being adapted to be positioned between the said draft sills and over the inturned flanges thereof,I and the said cushioning mechanism being embraced between the arms of said yoke and beingI 'of suchdimensions as to permit its entry between the said lower flanges. 4

6. In a draft rigging the combination with center sills comprising a pair of spaced channel beams having outturned flanges, of a pair of draft sills the ends of which are adapted to overla and to be connected to the respective en s of the adjacent center sills andto form extensions thereof, the said draft sills havinO' the lower flanges thereof inwardl extending, a combined stop and tie-casting interposed between the inner ends ofthe. draft sills adjacent the ends of the said center sills, the said casting being adapted to form a splicing means for the `said sills, means for connecting the adjasor cent ends of the respective center' and draft sills, the said means being adapted to pass through and rigidly connect the adjacent side wall of the said stop casting to the overlapping ends of the draft sills and center sills.

7. In a draft rigging the combination with a pair of spaced center channels having outturned flanges, and a pair of draft sills having inturned flanges, the adjacent ends' of the said center and draft sills being adapted to overlap, the draft sills being located between the said center sills, of a -combined stop and tie casting having a portion thereof disposed between and contacting the webs of the said center channels and another portion thereof disposed between and contacting the webs of the said draft sills, the said last named portion being recessed to provide spaces for the reception of the draft sills between the side walls of the casting and the webs of the said center channels.

S. In a draft rigging the combination with center sills, which terminate short of the end sills of the ear and a pair of flanged spaced draft sills tapering from' a greater depth at their forward ends to a less depth at their rear ends, of a buflng stop connected to the rear ends of the said draft sills and to said center sills and pulling stops connected to the forward ends of the said draft sills.

9. In a draft rigging the combination with a pair of spaced draft sills having the lower flanges thereof inturned, of cheekplates connected to the inner faces of the said draft sills, each of the said cheek-plates being adapted to overlie the said flange of the adjacent sill, and a plurality of rivets for connecting each of said cheek-plates to the flange of the adjacent sill.

10. In a draft rigging the combination with draft sills and center sills of means adapted to connect the said draft and center sills, cheek-plates secured to the inner faces of the draft sills and to the said connecting means, and a combined stop and tie casting adapted to be connected to the said draft sill, center sill and the said connecting means.

11. In a draft rigging the combination with a center sill and a pair of spaced draft sills connected to the adjacent ends of the said center sills, of cheek-plates attached to the inner faces of the said draft sills, and a cover plate connected at one end to the draft sills and cheek-plates and at the other end to the said center sill.

12. In a draft rigging the combination with a pair of spaced draft sills having cheek-plates attached thereto, of a car body structure and means for attaching said car body to the said draft sills, said means including a vertical tie connected to the body structure at one end and to the draft sill at its opposite end, the said tie member also being connected to the cheek-plate attached to the said draft sill.

13. In a draft rigging the combination with a center sill, a pair of spaced draft sills connected thereto, and a car superstructure, of cheek-plates secured to the inner faces of the said draft sills, and means independent of the draft sills and adapted to extend between the cheek-plates and thel center sills to form means for holding the.

. cheek-plates against longitudinal movement,

and additional means extending between the said plates and the superstructure and adapted to hold the said cheel -plates from vertical movement.

14. In a draft rigging a cheek-plate hav-- ing a web, a stop Iface rising therefrom, a plurality of vertically1 spaced ribs on the web of said cheek-plate, said ribs being adapted to extend from the stop face towards the opposite ends of the said web, the said web and some of the said ribs being provided with openings which are adapted to receive the means for operatively connecting the said cheek-plate to the adjacent draft sill.

15. In a draft rigging the combination with slotted draft sills, a slotted coupler, and a key extending through the said slots, of a brace extending outwardly from the said sill and adapted to be secured at its upper portion to the car superstructure, the said brace being disposed at an angle to the plane of the said superstructure so as to clear the forward ends of the said slots in the draft sills, the upperportion of the said brace being disposed to the rear of the said front face of the said slot and the lower portion of the said brace being disposed forwardly of the said slot.

16. In a draft rigging, a cheek-plate having spaced upper and lower stop shoulders, the said stop shoulders being adapted to form a way to receive the adj acont arm of a` horizontally disposed yoke, means on the said cheek-plate between the said upper and lower stop shoulders and extending rearward thereof for spacing the yoke arm inwardly from the web of the said cheekplate to thereby provide clearance between the yoke arm and the cheek-plate securing means.

17. In a draft rigging the combination with a pair of spaced draft sills having cheek-plates connected to the end faces thereof, of a combined stop and tie casting spaced from the said cheek-plates and oonnecting the said draft sills, a horizontally disposed yoke normally contacting said stop, said tie casting having a forward striking portion having top and bottom laterally directed walls extending rearwardly therefrom, the said walls being spaced from each other and also being spaced from the upper and lower edges of the said striking portion,

4 walls lying within the lines of the said yoke.

18. In a draft rigging the combination with a horizontally disposed yoke, and cush-4 ioning mechanism including longitudinally movable followers within said yoke, of means for supporting the same, said means comprising brackets spaced from said followers and interposed between the arms of the yoke and the adjacent faces of the draft sills and connected to the latter, portions of the said brackets-extending under theI said yoke arms.

19. In a draft rigging the combination with a p-air of spaced draft sills having stop members connected thereto, of a horizontally disposed yoke interposed between the same and brackets located intermediate said stop members and connected to the inner faces of the draft sills and adapted to support the said yoke, said brackets also serving to prevent lateral movement thereof.

20. In a draft rigging, the combination of a pair of spaced draft sills having the lower flanges .thereof inwardly directed, of a coupler, a horizontally disposed yoke and a cushioning member within the same, means for supporting said cushioningl member, said means comprising a transversely eX- tendingmember bridging the space between the draft sills and connected to` the webs thereof.

21.*In a draft rigging, the combinationv said cheek-plates to the web and iange of the adjacent sill. 4 22. In a draft rigging, the combination with spaced flanged sills having the lower anges thereof inwardly directed, of cheekplates adapted to contact the inner faces of said sills and overlie the said flanges thereof, a cover plate connected to said'sills and' bridging the spacetherebetween, and means for connecting each of said cheek-plates to the web and flange of the adjacent sill and additional means for connecting said cheekplates to said cover plate. 23. In a draft rigging, the combination with spaced hanged sills having the lower Aflange thereof inwardly directed, of a cushlening mechanism, a coupler, and means for operatively connecting said coupler and cushioning mechanism, said sill flanges being cut away ata point adjacent said cushioning mechanism to permit the insertion and removal thereof downwardly .between said sill anges.

24. In .a draft' rigging, the combination with spaced flanged sillshaving the lower flanges thereof inwardly directed, of'a cou'- pler, a cushioning mechanism positioned in w rear of said coupler, stop mechanism connected to the 'inner faces of said sills and adapted to deliver draft strains thereto, a carry iron for supporting the said coupler, said carry iron having the end portions l0 thereof overlying the said sill iangesY and means for maintaining said carry iron in position. Y

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

BYnRs w. KABEL. 

